If Toytown was in any major US City

After meeting so many people last night who meet so regularly I just wondered if this forum was in say NY or LA, would you all meet this way as well? or is there something different about munich that makes it possible?

For some reason it seems like there is less discomfort walking into a group of strangers here.

if we were in NY we would probably have native friends to hang out with. I find Munichers very stand-offish and hard to befriend. I did not have this problem when I lived in the Rhineland near Düsseldorf. There I had loads of natives as friends.

TT works here cos I think most people feel the same and need contact in a city that can isoalte very easily.

It's the ex-pat factor. We all move here, not knowing anyone (or very few people), so we are forced to be more sociable than we would be at home. People who have grown up in one place aren't less friendly, it's just that they already have a set of friends they have developed over the years, so they don't need to go out and try and meet lots of people. Ex-pats do this. Plus the fact that your best friend might move away tomorrow keeps you sociable and meeting new people.

Also the fact that living in a different country takes away some of the borders that would prevent some people from socialising with some others. I was 22 when I moved here and regularly was going out in a group with people who were 10-20 years older than me, which wasn't a problem, but wouldn't have happened if I stayed at home. I went out with Brits, because all their culture references were gone as well as mine, so we had more in common.

It works best in a non-English speaking city.

in grad school, we were all from so many different states and backgrounds that you could walk into any pub and meet someone you knew. there were always organized ski trips, outings, etc. so, yes if Toytown were in the u.s., it would be the same. the only difference with TT munich is that the majority of the people have jobs and can afford to go out more often and spend money. i'd like to say we're more mature, but i've been to frat parties as bad as most TT outings.

Because you're less likely to get shot.

I think the distance and safety factor also contributes. Getting around in Munich is so much easier and quicker.

The ex-pat factor? So how come I didn't have this problem in the Rhineland???

The only German friends I have here in Munich are from the Rhineland plus one or two Bavarians that play touch. Other than that nada.

You may be right, showem, that expats are more likely to surround themselves with people they understand but Munich kinda forces this behaviour by being very stand-offish. Like I already said in Düsseldorf I had loads of German friends and very few ex-pat friends. Here is it the reverse.

How did you meet the ones in Rhineland? That may say why more than any speculating on my part.

the usual really. Pubs, Schützenfest, Carnival, work, sport. Don't do anything different here in Munich than in the Rhineland.

Funny, I've met lots of Bavarians and made friends with them that way. Can't say where the problem lies.

This me thinks would not work in any other big city. This is for one a small communicative community and secondly is full of people who are by the very nature of being here, adventurous.
You could not begin to compare Munich to any large city in the states. Like a previous post mentioned, they carry guns and do shoot people...often!

i'd agree with showem on the necessity of being sociable in the 'ex-pats' life skill repartoire. alot of us who came here a long time ago have seen alot of people come and go and i think talked and got to know more people form all different classes and walks of life than you ever would had you spent the same amount of time in an english speaking city. i personaly have never had problems getting to know barvarians as well, i prefer them to the preis'n as they have just about the same diplomatic skills that i posess. bavarians-texans-yorkshiremen the axis of grunting.